The task of hitting a baseball requires multiple skills, including tempo, timing, muscle control, hand-eye coordination, as well as proper posture, position, set-up, stride control, and various mental aspects, such as, for example, mastery of anticipating certain pitches based on pitch counts. These batting skills must continue to evolve for a batter as the level of pitching quality increases. In the professional arena, for example, pitch speeds can reach upwards of 90 to 100 mph and ball movement relative to the plate can sometimes be measured in terms of feet. With such pitching, mastery of batting skills is essential for success at the professional level.
Of all the batting skills, proper stride is crucial to proper form and execution during the swing. Proper positioning, weight shift, foot position and hip movement all follow in suit from an initial proper stride. While opinions vary as to the best way to stride when hitting a baseball, certain fundamentals are common amongst the greatest hitters in the game. These fundamentals require: a stride that is parallel to the path of the pitch and toward the pitcher's mound; a forceful forward stride to effect a proper weight shift from the batter's trailing (back) foot to the leading (front) foot; a leading foot that remains perpendicular to the path of the pitch so that it does not pivot toward the pitcher's mound, which causes the batter's knee and hip to improperly “open up” to face the pitcher; and a controlled stride width that is consistent with a particular player's build, so that the player does not over stride and lose power.
One way to engrain some of these fundamentals is through the use of training aids and devices. The goal of such devices is to develop one or more of these fundamentals so that they become second nature to the baseball player, which ultimately allows the player to focus less on swing mechanics and more on execution and the strategic aspects of batting.
While many such devices have been developed over the years, most such devices rely upon “positive” feedback in the form of outside physical or tactile stimuli, such as a resistance provided by a portion of the device. A problem with positive feedback in this form is that a player will not feel this feedback during game conditions. This can have a negative psychological effect on the reinforcement aspects of training with the device. This can also have an adverse affect on proprioceptive feedback. Furthermore, many of these devices are restrictive and cannot be used in “real time,” i.e., during real or simulated full-speed pitching sessions. If used in full-speed situations, many of these devices pose great risk of injury to the player.
The present invention addresses these shortcomings, and provides other benefits as well, which will be readily apparent from the drawings, written description and claims herein.